This research will explore the topic of unintended childbearing in the United States in several ways. First, the stability of reports of wantedness over time will be examined. Using data from IV of the National Survey of Family Growth (1988), as well as from a telephone reinterview of Cycle IV respondents (1990), two retrospective reports of the same pregnancy will be compared; both the original interview, then asked for her impression of how her husband or sexual partner at the time had viewed the occurrence and/or timing of the same pregnancy. This study will ascertain not only how consistent the respondent was in reporting her own attitudes, but also determine how stable her reports were of her husband's or partner's preferences. Questions are frequently raised about the quality of retrospective data about the wantedness of pregnancies. A second aim of the study will therefore be to examine the consistency and overall quality of the wantedness data. Respondent's reports of the wantedness of their last pregnancy, as reported at time 1, will be compared with their reports of the wantedness status of any births that occurred in the two years between the two survey dates. Here, reports of women who said at time 1 their last pregnancy had been unwanted (i.e. not wanted then or at any point in the future) provide the focus. If a subsequent birth was then reported as wanted, the researches will ascertain whether other major changes (such as changes in marital status, income etc.) had occurred in the meantime, and to what extent they might have contributed to what otherwise might be considered inconsistent reporting. Finally, respondents' birth intentions, as stated during the 1988 interview, will be compared with their reports of the wantedness of births that occurred in the next two years. During the 1988 interview, women were asked whether they intended to have any (more) children, and if so, how many they intended to have. Respondents who intended to have at least on (more)child were asked when they expected to have their (first/next) child. Using data from the 1990 reinterview, it is possible to ascertain whether or not their expectations concerning their fertility during the two or so years following the original interview were realized. If, on the one hand, the women had expected to have a child within the next two years, it is possible to determine whether she did. If, on the other hand, she intended to have no more children, or expected to wait several years before giving birth, it is possible to ascertain whether she was successful in avoiding a pregnancy. it is this latter scenario that will be of interest in this research. The study will determine whether or not the woman was at risk of an unintended pregnancy and, if so, whether she used contraception to avoid conception. The researchers will look closely at the extent to which women wit higher levels of education and more financial resources might differ from those with less education and fewer financial resources in avoiding childbearing in the United States.